Ron's Dreamster
by SoiledRainbow
Summary: It all starts the afternoon that Ron wakes up in the Shreiking Shack....and scores himself two detentions for skipping class! Tsk Tsk! R&R please!
1. Ch 1: Dreamsters

Dreamsters  
  
***Everything in this story is the property of J.K.R.'s! HA HA! Except for....the plot, the Dreamsters, and my adored Franky. Don't ask. He climbed out of my ear one day and jumps into various fanfics I guess...but this is the first one I've actually ever written...so THERE!  
  
R&R? I LOVE you all! ^_^  
  
It was a cold morning in Hogsmeade. Ron awoke, stretched, glanced under the covers and grinned. The night had been cold as well. Oh well he thought. He sat up and then checked the watch around his wrist that Hermione had given him for his birthday.  
  
"Noon!" he shouted in surprise and jumped up. This is about the time he finally noticed his surroundings as well. He blinked a few times. "Bloody hell...why am I in the Shrieking Shack?"  
  
"Sleep walking," answered a voice from behind him. He turned around slowly and came face to face with a transparent spider the size of his head; the one with eyes that is.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ron squealed and ran to the nearest door. "SPIDER!" Seconds later he was in the deserted halls of Hogwarts. Ron was panting heavily as he ran to the Great Hall. He found Hermione and Harry sitting at one of the tables and hunkered down beside them.  
  
"Well, you're as pale as Nick," Hermione commented as she turned to Ron. "Of course, I'd be too if I'd skipped my morning classes!" Ron blushed in response.  
  
"B-but, I was asleep!" Ron protested. Harry raised a questionable eyebrow but didn't say anything.  
  
"That's no excuse, Mr. Weasley," Snape said. Ron turned around to the potions master. If it were even possible, Ron paled more. "Detention with me, tonight after dinner." Ron nodded his head and the greasy potions master slithered off toward the head master. The moment Snape was out of earshot Ron sighed and then glared.  
  
"Stupid git," he said and grabbed a spoonful of mashed potatoes, which he then ladled onto the empty plate in front of him.  
  
"You did skip his class, after all," Hermione said as Ron took a large bite from a roll drenched in gravy. He almost choked on it.  
  
"I are ooh anding up or em!" Ron mumbled through his occupied mouth. Hermione sighed in frustration and waved her wand in front of his mouth.  
  
"Swallow!" she demanded and the food jumped down his throat at an amazing speed, beat the record, if there was one...and if there was...it's certainly lost by now.  
  
"Why are you standing up for him?" Ron whined as he whipped his mouth off.  
"You skipped class!" Hermione protested.  
  
"That's no excuse to defend him!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. The two could find anything to argue about.  
  
"I'm leaving," Hermione growled, grabbing her bag and an apple as she stormed off, most likely heading for the library if not her next class or the grounds.  
  
"Can you believe her?" Ron said and ate the rest of his gravy- drenched roll. Harry didn't respond. Instead his thoughts were else where, or at least he wished they were. He hated it when his two best friends fought. "Arry? Are ooh en istening?" Harry looked up at Ron who had even more food stuffed in his mouth than before.  
  
"Hmm?" Harry said. He glanced down at his watch. "We better head to DADA. The new teacher wouldn't want us to be late." Ron rolled his eyes as he stuffed a few rolls and apples in his pockets.  
  
"Just cause he's a bloody fawn he thinks he rules the world," Ron groaned. "I'll catch up with you, I need my books." Harry nodded his head and walked out with Ron. They split up in the hallway. Harry to DADA and Ron to Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Harry walked into DADA. There was still about fifteen minutes before class started, but Franky, the new teacher, liked to star early sometimes. He was quite unpredictable.  
  
"Potter!"  
  
Harry looked up at the teacher's desk. Actually, it wasn't really a desk anymore. It was simply a big comfy chair with a plaid pattern of the green variety. Franky was pointing at Harry.  
  
"Yes, professor?" Harry asked as he walked up to the teacher, his bag still on his shoulder.  
  
"Where's Weasley?"  
  
"Getting his books, sir," Harry replied.  
  
"When he gets here, tell him Binns is giving him an hour of detention tomorrow morning before breakfast for skipping class," Franky said. Harry nodded his head placidly and walked to the middle of the room where he took a seat by himself. Hermione hadn't shown up yet, but was likely to take a seat with Neville anyway, considering the afternoon's quarrel between her and Ron.  
  
"Weasley! Welcome!" Franky squealed as Ron dashed into the room. Ron raised a questionable eyebrow, saluted the teacher (it was the way Franky liked to be greeted), and then walked back to where Harry was seated.  
  
"You have detention tomorrow morning," Harry said as Ron sat down.  
  
"Since when does Binns give out detentions?" Ron growled and took out a roll to eat from his pocket.  
  
"It's something new he started this year," Harry said. "Supposedly he'd heard a student say how easy he was." Harry shrugged and slouched in his chair, clearly tired. "So, yeah, an hour before breakfast. Have fun." Hermione walked into the classroom with five minutes remaining. She didn't even glance at Harry and Ron but headed straight for the table that Neville sat at, alone. "So where were you?"  
  
Ron was rubbing his temples as he turned to look at Harry.  
  
"I woke up at noon in the Shrieking Shack of all places," Ron said. "A s-spider ghost said I was sleep walking..."  
  
"That's different," Harry said. Ron nodded his head in agreement as he chewed on another roll.  
  
"Weasley! Come here!" Ron walked up to Franky.  
  
"Yes, professor?"  
  
"Give me one of those apples, will ya?"  
  
"Sure." Ron fished out an apple from his pockets and handed it to Franky.  
  
"Thanks, Weasley."  
  
"Welcome." With that Ron went back to his chair and finished his roll as Franky bit into the apple.  
  
"Okay! Welcome to another day of class!" Franky said as he hoped down from the chair onto his hooves. 'Today, we shall discuss Dreamsters!"  
  
Hermione's hand shot up.  
  
"Granger?"  
  
"Dreamsters are like poltergeist, aren't they?"  
  
"Yes, they are! Five points to Gryffindor!" Hermione beamed with accomplishment. "Now then. Dreamsters control your dreams AND your body when they can get a nice hold on you. This usually happens when you've been stressed lately and are simply vulnerable. But, they'll only get you under these conditions if they're lurking about thirty feet away from you. Any further, and they can't sense you. They enjoy making their victims sleep walk, talk in their sleep, all sorts of goodies like that! And, the tricky part about them is none of them look alike. Each has its very own shape. For instance, they could be a goat, a floating head, a rat, or even a large spider. But the way you tell them apart from the real creatures is that they are transparent, like ghosts."  
  
Ron's eyes grew a few sizes larger and he blinked. Harry side glanced at his friend. Both were thinking along the same lines.  
  
Had Ron caught himself a Dreamster? 


	2. Ch 2: Formulating a Plan, of Sorts

DISCLAIMER: Everything in here is property of J.K.R.'s imagination, except for the plot, the Dreamsters and my Franky!  
  
R&R! **************  
  
"A spider of all things!"  
  
Ron was pacing on the grounds of the Quidditch field. Harry leaned against his Firebolt broom, half-awake. All of their classes were over for Monday and they had ten minutes left of dinner before Ron had to report to Snape for detention. In that time, Ron felt he had the right to complain as much as possible.  
  
"Ron," Harry sighed. "You don't even know if it is a Dreamster." His eyes were fluttering shut as Ron kicked at a tuft of grass.  
  
"You heard Franky!" Ron yelled and Harry fell over, his eyes shooting open.  
  
"Yes, yes, RON! I HEARD Franky!" Harry shouted as he picked himself up on his broom. Ron looked up at Harry with a look of puzzlement.  
  
"Harry," Ron began slowly. "You look dead tired."  
  
Harry rubbed his eyes and wobbled a bit and then fell over again. Ron walked over to Harry who stared up at him with a dreamy expression.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Get up! I've got to go to detention! Get up!" Ron shouted. He helped Harry up and they made their way up to the front steps. "Go get some sleep, Harry!"  
  
Harry waved his hand in return and then fell over on the ground, groggy. He gripped his broom and tried to keep his eyes open as he lay there, unmoving. Off in the distance he saw Hermione running toward him and then he blacked out.  
  
When he awoke he was in the common room of Gryffindor Tower. Hermione was reading in one of the chairs while Harry had been placed on a couch. He sat up and noticed that it was pitch black outside. After glancing at his watch he realized why; it was three in the morning.  
  
"Hermione! Why are you up so late?" Harry asked. She looked up from her book and grinned.  
  
"I wasn't sure what was wrong with you," Hermione answered. "Why were you lying the hallway, hugging your broom, Harry?"  
  
"I had my broom because I thought I might get in some flying tonight," he answered and tried not to rub his eyes. "And I had come with Ron to the hallway. We'd been outside, him complaining, and...I'm really tired."  
  
"How many nights have you been awake?" Hermione asked, closing her book with a piece of parchment placed where she left off.  
  
"About a week, I think," Harry answered drowsily. He couldn't resist anymore; he rubbed his eyes.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione yelled and then fell back in her chair with her hands clasped over her mouth as her eyes stared at the stairs in shock and her skin paled. Harry tried not to laugh.  
  
After a few minutes with no movement from any of the dormitories, Hermione moved her hands slowly away from her mouth.  
  
"Bloody hell, Hermione," Ron said as he appeared at the bottom of the steps, stretching. "Could you get any louder?"  
  
"It was an accident," she retorted quietly, the blood rushing to her cheeks. Ron jumped onto the couch next to Harry, grinning ear to ear. Harry side glanced at him.  
  
"You seem too happy," Harry observed. "You had an hour of detention with Snape after all."  
  
"He's fallen ill," Ron said.  
  
"Has he really?" Harry asked, a huge smile stretching across his lips. Ron nodded his head gleefully.  
  
"So I had Franky for detention!" Ron said finally and laughed. "It was GREAT!"  
  
"How?" Hermione asked, puzzled. "It was detention..."  
  
"Well," Ron said. "He was supposed to assign me something to do, but he couldn't think of anything! So we talked about Dreamsters!"  
  
"Uh-oh," Harry mumbled quietly.  
  
"He said I shouldn't worry about it," Ron said. "Because there's a way to get rid of them!"  
  
"Since when do you have a Dreamster?" Hermione asked, sitting forward in her chair and staring at Ron.  
  
"I'm not sure," Ron said. "But that's why I wasn't in class this morning, because of my Dreamster, it made me sleep walk during the night into the Shrieking Shack!"  
  
"Oh," Hermione said, blushing slightly.  
  
"So how do you get rid of them?" Harry asked.  
  
"You stay awake as long as possible," Ron said. "And each night you drink a potion that is really simple to make, or you can just purchase it in Hogsmeade, which is one of the three places that sells it!" Hermione had now started to stare at Harry with a look of strong accusation.  
  
"So when are you going to go the Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, side glancing at Hermione. He could guess what she was thinking.  
  
"Well, this Saturday is one of the days we can go," Ron said. "So I guess I'll get the stuff then." He shrugged and sat back against the couch smiling.  
  
"I'll go with you, I guess," Harry offered. "I need to get some things from Hogsmeade anyway." He shrugged and then yawned. "Well, I'm going up stairs to sleep." Harry stood up and picked up his broom, which had been lying beside the couch. "Night Ron, night Hermione." He then trudged up the stairs to the boy's dormitory and left Ron and Hermione sitting in the common room.  
  
"So..." Ron said.  
  
"I'm sorry for this morning," Hermione said, looking down at her hands in which she held her book.  
  
"Ah, it's fine, 'Mione," said Ron, smiling still. "Why were you so upset about me not being in the first two classes though?" He looked at her, waiting for a response.  
  
"No reason really," she said as she thought about the note that was still in her bag up on her bed. "Except that I wouldn't want you to miss any of the material for the exams and everything. It wouldn't be right to go onto seventh year without you, Ron." She stood up quickly, holding onto her book tightly. "I should be off to bed, I've been up to late. Night Ron!" She then dashed up the stairs and into the girl's dormitory, leaving Ron sitting on the couch, who happened to still be smiling like a fool.  
  
After a few minutes of sitting there smiling and staring at the fire Ron stood and made his way up to bed.  
  
His necklace: Thank you for the review!  
  
ALSO! To those that have just read this, thank you for finding an interest! MWHAHA! Lastly, there WILL be a following chapter as well as others. I'm not that cruel to simply build up a story and never finish it! That would be a cruel action to myself, and my characters, like Franky, would eternally bother me and not allow me a restful sleep! ARG! NO!  
  
So everyone, thank Franky for his persistence and need for this story to continue! MWHAHA! 


	3. Ch 3: Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

DISCLAIMER: Everything in this is J.K.R.'s except for Troofles, Dreamsters, the plot, and FRANKY! –sniggers- And I've got even more up my sleeves ^_^  
  
R&R!  
  
Ron danced down the stairs to breakfast, whistling his favorite song, which didn't seem to be any song distinguishable to fellow students.  
  
It was Friday morning and everything was different. For starters, Ron had all of his homework completed with all the effort he had ever given toward any kind of work. And frankly, that was just strange and out of place. And then there was his complete and utter cheerful demeanor. A passing Gryffindor would expect any of the Weasley's, of the remaining two at the school, to glare any one out of their path on a school morning. This, apparently, was NOT the case with Ron, as the Creevy's observed that morning.  
  
"Good morning Ron!" Coilin squealed as his younger brother followed behind him down the stairs. Ron, in reply, smiled and waved to the two brothers before skipping down the hall toward a welcoming breakfast and half-awake students. "That...was just odd," Coilin announced and his brother nodded his head in agreement.  
  
Harry and Hermione also noticed Ron's strange demeanor as he joined them at a table and reached for a steaming blueberry scone.  
  
"Erm...Ron?" Harry asked, pausing the buttering of his toast. The action had frozen mid air.  
  
"Yeah, Harry?" Ron asked as he took a huge bite from the scone and made a sound of gratification.  
  
"Who placed the Cheer Charm on you?" Harry asked, still aghast.  
  
"Oh, no one," Ron said and finished his scone in another bite. "As far as I am aware of any way." Hermione and Harry both exchanged looks of confusion and then shrugged. Why complain when your best friend was happy?  
  
"So tomorrow we'll meet in the common room and go down to Hogsmeade together, right?" Hermione said after a few moments of awkward silence.  
  
"Yup," Ron answered. Harry simply nodded his head in response.  
  
"Okay," Hermione said. "And then after breakfast we'll all split up to our separate stores and meet back up at the Three Broom Sticks for lunch at twelve?"  
  
"You got it," Ron said and dug into the pile of eggs he'd poured onto his plate. Harry didn't really pay attention; he was lost in a thought and couldn't be revived, although he'd had more than enough sleep throughout the week. Hermione had monitored him as best she could and had even enlisted the help of Neville.  
  
"Well," Harry said suddenly. "I'm going to go to the library for the rest of breakfast. See you in Divinations, Ron." Ron saluted Harry and then ate another scone; this time is was raspberry, as Harry walked off.  
  
"Did you have a good dream last night?" Hermione asked, simply out of the blue as Ron had paused his gorging to take a gulp of pumpkin juice. Ron almost chocked on it. He cleaned himself off with a napkin and looked up at Hermione who was staring at him, her head tilted to the side.  
  
"Oh, um, yes, I did, I guess you could say," Ron answered, his voice cracking a little. He was also blushing, which made his freckles stand out more.  
  
"What about?" Hermione continued.  
  
"Oh, I can't really remember anymore," Ron said quickly and stood up. "Ya know, it just slips away when you wake up!" He smiled nervously, looked around, grabbed his bag and then darted out of the Great Hall. Hermione grinned and finished her breakfast at a nice, slow pace before she got up and headed toward her first class of the day.  
  
After classes had ended that day without the slightest threat of a detention, Harry, Hermione and Ron met in the library to get a head start on a paper assigned by Franky.  
  
"So what was the topic again?" Ron asked as he sat down at one of the tables with Harry and Hermione. "Wasn't it about Troofles?" Hermione nodded her head and pulled her DADA book out of her bag. Harry already had a quill and a bottle of ink out on the table and was now fishing around for parchment. Ron did the same.  
  
"I think we're supposed to research their habitat, feeding habits, and personalities," Harry said and scratched his scar, it had started bothering him during the middle of the week. Hermione noticed the action and lifted her head from the page she was reading out of the DADA book about Troofles.  
  
"Harry?" Hermione inquired, not having to say much more than his name. He lifted his gaze up to Hermione and questioned her with an uplifting of his eyebrows.  
  
"It's just been...bothering me a little lately," Harry said, Ron oblivious to the situation at hand. "Nothing serious or anything." Hermione glared at him, positive he wasn't telling her everything. "Hermione, I promise, I'll tell you if anything ever comes up." He grinned and she cooled off just a little.  
  
"If you don't, mate, she'll find out," some one said from behind them. Harry, Hermione and Ron swiveled around to see who was the owner of the voice and found Franky, a book and a mass of papers stuffed under his right arm.  
  
"Hello Professor!" Hermione said, radiating with the complement he'd just given her.  
  
"Honestly, Granger, just call me Franky," he said bluntly and his small tail flicked at invisible flies. "It's so much simpler."  
  
"Sorry, sir," she said. Franky waved it away.  
  
"You're a bright youngster, you'll get the hang of the name game someday," he said and turned to Harry. "And if anything concerning your scar ever ails you, young sir, report not only to your friend here, but also to me. I might be able to help you figure out what's wrong." Harry nodded his head in reply.  
  
"Thanks, sir," Harry said.  
  
"Right, well, I'll be off," Franky said. "See you three on Monday!" The three saluted him as he smiled and pranced off.  
  
"You promise?" Hermione begged, glaring at Harry again. He sighed and held out his hand.  
  
"Shall we shake on it?" Harry asked and Hermione took his hand. "I swear that I shall tell you if anything concerning my scar happens, and if I don't, I shall go challenge Krum to a wrestling match." All three grimaced at the task he'd set for punishment as Hermione and Harry shook hands in agreement.  
  
"Now that we have that settled, may we begin?" Ron asked, completely prepared with his book open and a quill in hand, freshly dipped in his pot of ink, as a clean piece of parchment awaited his thoughts in front of him on the table. "I'd REALLY like to finish this before tomorrow, so I can worry about my Dreamster problems!"  
  
"Right, right, whatever," Harry and Hermione said and the three began their essays. 


	4. Ch 4: Trip to Hogsmeade

Disclaimer: Everything except for Franky, the Plot, and Dreamsters belong to J.K. Rowling!

R&R

Hermione waited patiently in the common room of Gryffindor Tower on the bright Saturday morning. When Ron and Harry finally trudged down the stairs into the well-lit room they found her sitting in an armchair with one of the many library books propped up in her lap, more than half of the pages already read.

The moment the two boys had entered the common room, Hermione looked up from her book and smiled, far too cheery for their tastes that early in the morning.

"Well then, let's hurry and get down to breakfast then," she said, standing promptly as she closed her book, the page she had left off on already burned into her memory.

"Right, right," Ron mumbled and shuffled toward the portrait hole, followed by a half awake Harry and a cheerful Hermione.

After a few minutes the three Gryffindors reached the Great Hall and took a seat at their table. Freshly baked biscuits and gravy perked Ron up to a level that could be considered something more alive than a zombie, but hardly sparked Harry's interest.

"Harry?" Ron said as he grabbed five biscuits.

Harry glanced up at Ron, his droopy eyes trying to close.

"I thought you loved biscuits and gravy!" Ron said, ladling gravy over his biscuits.

"Oh, I did," Harry said, sighing as he watched Ron ladle on the smooth gravy. It made his mouth water.

"Did?"

"Over the summer my Aunt Petunia tried to make biscuits and gravy from a recipe that Uncle Vernon had been given by Aunt Marge years ago," Harry said, letting out another sigh. "Some how large dogs forced their way into the kitchen and in the frenzy, Aunt Petunia threw the pan of gravy right at me. Left a nasty bruise and a few burns. Sometimes I'm really glad I'm a wizard." For the third time, he let out a sigh. "Put me off biscuits and gravy for quite some time though."

"Wow, I'm sorry Harry," Ron said and then shoveled the biscuits and gravy into his mouth, making satisfied noises as he ate it all. Harry looked at him with his droopy eyes and then turned away, grabbing for some marmalade and toast instead. As he reached forward Nearly Headless Nick popped through the table.

"Morning, Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Nick said and tipped his head to all three. "Wonderful day, isn't it?"

"Hardly," Harry grumbled as he took a piece of toast out of the transparent form of Nick.

"Come now! Everything's so wonderful!" Nick sang and spun higher into the air. Hermione and Ron tilted their heads back and watched him curiously.

"Nick," Hermione began as she sat her fork down on the plate with her remaining scrambled eggs. "What has you in such a cheery mood?"

"The Headless Hunt have created a few new rules," Nick began and floated back down to the table, convinently perching right where the pitcher of pumpkin juice was, which happened to be the aim of Harry's hand at first. A grumble slipped through his lips as he jerked the pitcher through Nick and poured himself a glass.

"Okay," Ron said and gave Nick his famed puzzlement look. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron and ate another bite of eggs.

"And this means I may just be able to convince them to let me join under their new rules!" Nick said cheerfully. "I haven't had a chance to look at all of them, yet, but under the rules I _have_ read, I could easily join now!" Nick gave a cheer and then waved as he zoomed off.

"I hope the Headless Hunt don't turn him down," Hermione mused as she picked up her abandoned fork. "But I suppose if they did, it would only continue to fuel his desire to join." She shrugged her shoulders and finished off her eggs.

Once breakfast was finished Hermione herded the boys out of the castle and toward Hogsmeade.

"You really are quite eager about this, Hermione," Harry pointed out as they passed through the gates of the School Grounds. "You'd think that maybe Ron would be the one rejoicing in this visit."

"Well, I just don't want to have to hear Ron complain about any more Dreamster occurances," Hermione said and looked at Harry. "Do you?"

"They are amusing," Harry said, smiling for the first time that morning.

"Hey!"

"Oh be quiet, Ron," Hermione said as they walked through the entrance of Hogsmeade. "Harry has a point."

"He does?"

"I do?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. This is what she got for having two boys as best friends. "Yes, Harry has a point," she concluded, glancing momentarily as the Three Broom Sticks. "It gives you something to talk about other than your usual topics of interest. Like Quidditch and food."

"There's nothing wrong with Quidditch," both boys put in together.

"Or food," Ron finished. "Speaking of which, I need to stop into Honeydukes for some—"

"Watch out!"

Out of nowhere a blur of an owl came zooming toward Ron. His head and the owl would have collided, probably resulting in something of a bloody mess had a resident of Hogsmeade not shouted. Ron ducked just in time to see the owl crash into a bush near a shop.

"I think its Pig," Harry said as the three crept toward the now rustling bush. In a few moments the tiny owl burst out of the foliage and zoomed straight for Ron. Luckily, for both the owl and Ron, there were only several feet between the two. Ron caught the excited owl in his hands and let him settle down for a few moments before opening his hands and looking down at the small bird.

"You could have knocked my head off, you crazy animal!" Ron scolded, attempting to keep his fondness of Pig out of his tone, and almost succeeded, but Pig still noticed. The tiny owl bounced in Ron's hands as Ron took a letter out of under the bird, which happened to be heavier than anyone thought Pig could carry. "It's from mum."

"What do you think it's about?" Hermione asked as both she and Harry leaned in closer.

"No clue." Ron let Pig bounce up to his shoulder as he opened the letter. For a few moments he skimmed the letter quietly. "What? How does she know about the dreamster?"

"You told Ginny the other night," Harry said, a curious expression on his face. "Um, don't, well, remember?"

"No!" Ron whined, looking at Harry. "Why would I tell my little sister about my Dreamster? I didn't want mum and dad to know!"

"Maybe the Dreamster wanted to to know?" Hermione suggested, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Ron. "You were apparently sleep walking if you don't remember."

Ron's face fell. And that entire week he'd thought he was free from the Dreamster.

"I thought maybe the stupid creature had lost interest in me," Ron said and folded the letter up, shoving it deep into his pocket.

"We can assume that's not the case," Hermione said, watching Ron closely.

"At least you haven't seen it," Harry said, in an attempt to cheer his friend up.

"I might have," Ron said quietly.

"Might have?"

"Well, the other night I thought I saw a large spider in the middle of the dormitory," Ron confided. "But I convinced myself I must be seeing things, or dreaming. I guess I had myself convinced it had left."

"Which isn't the case," Hermione added.

"Not at all," Ron sighed.

Pig started to bounce about on Ron's shoulder and make what might have been noises indicating it wanted food. This act broke Ron's concentration on being miserable and he turned his head ever so slightly toward the bird.

"You really are annoying," he said and then grinned.

"Best feed him, shouldn't we?" Harry suggested and the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Otherwise he might nibble off my ear," Ron said. The three, plus Pig, started walking again, headed toward the Pet Store.


	5. Ch 5: Another Problem?

Disclaimer: All content with the exceptions of Franky, the Plot and Dreamsters happen to belong to J.K. Rowling.

R&R!

"Okay, so all we need to do," Ron started as he fed Pig the owl treats in front of the Pet Store of Hogsmeade, "is get that blasted potion."

"I hope for your sake it isn't too expensive," Harry said, glancing down the street.

"Franky said it shouldn't be," Ron said, handing Pig the last treat. "Or at least it wasn't the last time he checked."

"Then we better hurry and get your potion, Ron," Hermione said and started walking to the Potions shop with gusto.

"Well wait up then!" Ron yelled and hurried after her, Harry trudging behind them, his thoughts elsewhere as usual.

In a matter of minutes they'd arrived in the doorway of the potions shop that contained the potion that would hopefully get rid of Ron's Dreamster for good. Hermione had taken the lead, standing in front of both Ron and Harry. "Um, excuse me miss…"

Hermione whirled around to face a timid looking man staring at her in a deer in headlights kind of way. "Yes?" she asked, straightening her back, which made the man hunch over just a bit.

"C-can I help you w-with anything?" the timid man asked. He was just a bit taller than Ron, who was the tallest among their group, but it appeared the scared man would have been taller if he'd straighten up.

"We're looking for a certain potion," Hermione began, "that specializes in getting rid of Dreamsters." Silence followed her words. After a few moments she leaned forward slightly and raised a single eyebrow. "Might you have any in stock."

"Maybe," squeaked the man. "I-I'll go c-check…" With that he disappeared into a back room, the door behind the counter.

"He's kind of skittish," Ron whispered to Harry.

"Huh?"

"Harry, weren't you paying any attention?" Ron asked, nudging his friend in the shoulder. "Where were you, Mars?"

"I don't think so…" Harry commented and shrugged his shoulders. Ron rolled his eyes and then turned his attention back to the door behind the counter. The timid man came scurrying back out, several bottles in his arms.

"H-how many do y-you need?" he asked quickly.

"Just one, please," Hermione said and stepped forward to grab a bottle out of his arms. He flinched and a bottle tumbled out of his arms. Out of nowhere, Harry lunged for the bottle and caught it easily, without even having to lose his balance.

"Nice catch, Harry!" Ron congratulated and clapped him on the back.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled and smiled briefly at his friend. The timid man stared at Harry for a few moments, a mixture of curiousity and fright mengling on his features.

"How much will the potion cost?" Harry asked, annoyed at the silence and the awkward stare. The man snapped out of it and gingerly set the remaining bottles on the counter.

"Two galleons," he said without stuttering for the first time. Ron fumbled in his pockets for the money, but Harry beat him to it. He laid two galleons on the counter and then started for the door, handing Ron the potion as he passed. He left the shop first and then continued walking as Ron, Hermione and the timid store manager looked after him.

"What's w-wrong with your friend?" the man asked, looking at Ron and Hermione. Both gave a shrug.

"Thanks!" Ron said, waving the potion at him and then they left, hurrying after Harry.

"What's up with Harry lately?" Ron asked Hermione as they searched for their friend, speed walking.

"I should be asking you," Hermione snapped, then blushing promptly afterwards. "Sorry," she mumbled before continuing. "You do room with him, after all. Haven't you noticed anything strange lately?"

"He's just been brooding often," Ron said, trying to remember anything odd about Harry's late demeanor. "But he gets like that sometimes, you know?"

"Yes, he does," Hermione agreed, looking around. "Do you think he's been having dreams about…about you-know-who again?" Her voice had lowered to a whisper and she'd moved closer to Ron.

"I don't know…" Ron whispered back, trying not to blush or let his voice crack. "He hasn't woken anyone at night…" He shrugged his shoulders and straightened his back, standing up straight.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and peered off in search of Harry. Now that one problem might be solved, another had arisen. Typical.

PS - I apologize for any grammatical/spelling errors. I'm really just in a hurry to get this out of my head. )


End file.
